Dear Pony,
by OffenceTaken
Summary: Two years since The Outsiders. Ponyboy is sixteen now, he has moved on, but life ain't perfect.


**Short chapter, but it's a prologue.**

I laid back into the soft comforter and looked at the ceiling. It's been almost two years, I'd say. Two years since Johnny and Dallas left, and nearly five months since Mark went to the cooler. I've never been so lonely. Okay, maybe I'm not completely alone, since I still have Darry, Soda, Steve and Two-Bit, and, of course, Cathy. I just feel lonely since my closest friends are gone. Everything has changed now, I mean everyone is different.

Soda, my brother, who is eighteen-going-on-nineteen, still works at the DX. It's been good for him, and he had gotten over Sandy and met a girl, Tracy. She's really nice and she's beautiful, I had a bit of a crush on her for a while, but I realized, she's more his type. Darry likes her a lot too, and we hope they get married, 'cause I've never seen anyone who made Soda happier than Tracy. Soda no longer lives with us since he moved out and bought a little house with the little money he had, he lives near us, so I don't miss him all too much. He's been thinking of joining the Army, but I hope he doesn't, people die in the war.

Steve, nineteen now, doesn't hate me much any more; I think Soda has something to do with it, but it seems like he's making an effort to be nice to me. He's been pretty happy too, he graduated school and still works half-time at the DX, but the rest of the time he works at Skippy's Auto Repair, I hear he's their top employee. Steve moved in with Evie when her mom left town with some motorcycle gang, Soda says Steve's going to propose to her pretty soon. There's been a rumour going around that she's pregnant, but I'm not prepared to ask him whether it's true or not. He too is thinking of going out to war too. He may not be my favourite person, but I wouldn't want him to die either.

For Two-Bit, who recently turned twenty-one, life's hasn't been looking good for him lately. He had his ups and downs. He passed grade eleven and got half-way through his last year but got expelled for smoking marijuana. He was really lucky when it never was reported to the police. He's married to Kathy and she's nearly nine months pregnant with his kid, they bought a little house together and he works at some warehouse, hauling stuff. I haven't seen much of him, but I do know that he's been struggling with money.

Darry, twenty-two, got promoted on his roofing job. He met an Asian girl, Rebecca, through his second job at the restaurant he cooks at. I like Rebecca a lot; she's really nice and smart. She treats me like an adult, I guess Darry has been too, but we can talk for a long time about a lot of things. They're getting married in June, and Darry's been saving up to honeymoon in California or Florida, some hot place like that, while I would stay at Soda's or something. We've been pretty neutral, I can't remember the last time we fought and my schoolwork's been great. Darry also signed up for evening college courses.

Last, is me. I guess I've been doing great, considering that two of my friends died and another is stuck in the cooler. I got my first girlfriend, Cathy, who is really pretty. When we started going out, Soda used to poke a lot of fun at me and make me blush around her. I joined football, after Darry suggested I do so, I am the fullback and I'm still in track. Darry thinks I might even get a scholarship if I keep working hard in school and keep training in football. I don't know what I'm going to be when I have to apply for university, but I'm thinking of maybe a lawyer or something cool like that.

I used to think about Johnny and Dallas all the time, but now I barely think of them at all, and no one mentions them anymore. I met Mark and we became close friends, but his best friend, and adopted brother, Bryon didn't like me a lot, especially after me and Cathy started going out. I didn't hate him, but when he reported to the police on Mark and his drugs, I kind of started to. Since he did take away one of my only friends left, a close friend I mean.

I wish I could go back in time and change it all but what's been done, been done. Life has to go on, Darry likes to say. But sometimes it would be better if life just stayed the same.

It all went by quickly when the notice came.

**I'm assuming you know what's going to happen, there will be more dialog in the next chapter, but I'd like to get some reviews too. **


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